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Benjamin Hastings
Benjamin Edward George Hastings II, more commonly known by his pseudonym Ben Grey, and introduced as Kaito, is the deuteragonist of Wild Souls: Infinite Frontier, as well as a supporting character in Wild Souls: Operation Bermuda, and again a deuteragonist in Wild Souls: Survival of the Fittest. He also makes an appearance in Wild Souls: Criaturo Nocturno and is the protagonist of Wild Souls: Mammoth Among Men, in which he also goes by the aliases Man-Mountain Henry '''and Cliff McGee'. He is the only character to physically appear in all five parts, and has been stated by the author to be the "main character" of the series as a whole. Ben initially appears as a young boy by the name of Kaito, residing in Pedrum Village. He is discovered by Hannah Guiles, who is searching for his great-great-grandfather (actually Ben himself). Ben, as Kaito, lies to Hannah and states that his great-great-grandfather died long ago, but that his great-grandfather is still alive and can help her with unlocking her Animal-Spirit. Shortly afterward, during an encounter with a group of thugs, Ben unwillingly undergoes a reversion back to his true self, leading to Hannah seeing through his facade and him agreeing to both help unlock her Spirit as well as train her for the '''Concrete Jungle Decathalon. ' Ben is a possessor of an Animal-Spirit and wields The'' ''Elephant, a short-range Spirit that imbibes him with a wide range of superhuman abilites, the most notable being extreme strength. Appearance As Katio, Ben appears as a short and thin boy, with tousled blond hair, large eyes, and a gap between his teeth. He has a round face, and most notably a narrow jawline and thin eyebrows, in comparison to his true appearance. Ben's true form is that of a very large man with a similarly muscular and well-defined physique. He has short blond hair, swept to the left, although it is occasionally shown as silver in color. His eyes are angular, as is most of his face, and his jaw is shown as a square with a cleft chin. His eyebrows are also thicker. Ben's appearance changes multiple times in the course of the story. Ben's official height is stated to be 7'2" and his weight 610 lbs; however, his frame is drawn both larger and smaller on numerous occasions throughout the series. His eye color is also stated to be gray, but when angered, his pupils and irises disappear, leaving only white circles. In addition, when angered, his skin and hair turn black, although this is most likely a stylistic choice and not a physical transformation. In Mammoth Among Men, ''Ben's apperance is shown to have also varied drastically over the years. Initially he is presented as a young boy of normal height and stature for his age, but he grows into his great height remarkably quickly. His features are initially sharp, but gradually dull with age. His hair is normally short, but he has shown to have grown it out on at least one occasion. His frame also lost a great deal of its muscle mass during his time as a cocaine addict. His face has been shown as decreasing in length over time, although this is also most likely a stylistic choice. Throughout most of ''Infinite Frontier, ''Ben wears black running shorts with a gray t-shirt, but changes into a blue-and-yellow slim-fit shirt during the climatic battle. He is shown wearing a dark gray suit with a blue tie in ''Operation Bermuda, ''a hoodie and cargo pants in ''Criaturo Nocturno, ''and a tan overcoat and tan fedora in ''Survival of the Fittest. In Mammoth Among Men, ''Ben is shown in multiple different outfits: orange robes with a gold cape in the 1700s, brown pants and suspends in the 1800s, and a blue crop top in the 1900s. Personality As Kaito, Ben pretends to have a cheery personality, offering to provide food and board to Hannah and expecting nothing in return. He also gives suggestions and solutions to problems quickly and energetically. He is known in Pedrum Village as a "bouncing ball of sunlight". In his true form, Ben is a very stern and mostly reserved man who has low expectations of his students and the world in general. He is primarily moved by logic and does not believe it neccessary to maintain a grandiose appearance filter his words or ideas for others. He often comes off as cold, apathetic, and impatient, exhorting very little energy in most situations. As a teacher, Ben is most often rigid and strict even when not necessary, although he has a small degree of tolerance for disobedient behavior. Ben often enjoys putting his students through rigorous training and seems to take a slightly sadistic pleasure in pushing the more unpleasant parts of his regimen so that his students can overcome their limits. Although not a loud person, Ben is unrestricted when expressing his ideas and beliefs, for instance blatantly stating that he believed '''Allison Salermas family to be the "scum of the earth" when they first met. He often responds physically to infringements against himself or his students, as shown when he attacks '''Augustus, Kanaan, Coin,' and Marcus among numerous others. Ben has stated himself that he acts in such a manner as a result of "too many unsaid things" leading to preventable tragedies. Despite these traits, Ben genuinely cares about his students and allies, as well as civilians, and will go to great lengths to protect them. He demonstrates this on multiple occasions, having saved Han Lao from KUN in spite of his grievous injuries, as well Allison, Cory, Hannah, and Polo from Coin. He has also expressed belief in his students and friends often, and is even confident that someone such as Coin would not be swayed by the call of villainy once their heart was put in the right place. He demonstrates this side as well when he personally trains Allison after she gains his respect through her actions, believing her and himself to be similar in many regards. Ben has also shown on several occasions that he is far from emotions such as joy, sarcasm, mischief, and humor, and has even played a part in one of Cory's pranks on his friends. Abilities Animal-Spirit: '''Ben is a possessor of an Animal-Spirit, and currently wields '''The Elephant, '''stylized as ''The Elephant''. As with all Animal-Spirits, The'' Elephant grants Ben a degree of superhuman abilities: *'Extreme Strength: 'Ben is physically the strongest character in the series, barring Kun. Although Dr Winter has stated that his strength is not limitless, Ben has demonstrated such feats as effortlessly lifting twelve-story buildings as well as mountains, jumping three miles into the air, parting a sea with a punch, and on one occasion, crushing coal into a diamond. With his immense power, Ben also has shown to be able to "fly" in a manner of speaking, in which he creates shockwaves in the air utilizing only his raw strength. According to himself, Ben has never lost a fight, although this is disproved in ''Mammoth Among Men. Regardless, Ben's strength has no equal in the modern word of the series; Dr. Winter has recorded him once putting out 10,000 square pounds of force from each hand, while he has shown little exertion. His power also applies to every aspect of his body, granting him (by extension) the following abilities: **'Superhuman Durability: '''Ben's skin is entirely bulletproof, and can take hits from the likes of Augustus, Kun, and Coin with little damage. He has also shattered boulders by standing beneath them when they fall, and survived the likes of grenades, tank shells, missiles, and bombs with zero damage. He is also only mildly injured by Kanaan's Claw Rush, and survives innumerable kicks from Coin after the latter was shown to be able to create craters more than 200 feet in diameter using only brute force. **'Superhuman Speed: 'Despite his huge frame, Ben has been recorded moving at speeds of nearly 1000 miles per hour. Dr Winter noted that this was impressive, since his Animal-Spirit is not naturally fast; she theorized that it was simply an application of strength in his lower body. On multiple occasions, Ben has moved at speeds imperceptible to the human eye, and has easily matched Coin's "time freeze". **'Superhuman Agility/Reflexes: 'Ben can dodge punches thrown at minimally 100 m/s, and can catch bullets free-handed if he desires. He freely dodges imperceptively fast attacks, the likes of which even he admits he does not always see coming, and is able to do so soley through superhumanly advanced reaction speed. Ben also can be immeasureably precise with his movements when neccessary, easily dispatching many of Coin's Association without causing them observable injury. Ben's precision is said to be derived from that of an elephant's trunk. **'Superhuman Lung Capacity: 'Ben has demonstrated that he can blow away people soley through force of breath. He can also hold his breath for at least ten minutes. **'Superhuman Senses: '''Ben has demonstrated such feats as sensing a heartbeat from five blocks away, and indentifying a person based solely off of their scent. Ben has stated he controls the level of his senses on a whim. ' **'Superhuman Stamina: Ben has stated it would take every figher on Earth fighting him at the same time to truly tire him out. In most of his fights, he rarely becomes exhausted; to date, he states that the only people that have truly made him sweat in a fight are Augustus and Kun. **'''Healing Factor: '''Ben has healed numerous injuries, both non-lethal and potentially lethal, much quicker than a normal person. He has also stated that it was his healing factor keeping him alive during his cocaine addiction, as the amount he ingested was supposedly enough to kill five people. *"The Trumpet": 'Ben's secondary ability, derived from his own immense strength, is to release a sonic shout capable of destroying most, if not all, of his surroundings within a half-mile radius, and causing damage to areas as much as two miles away. Ben has used this ability three times: once against Augustus, once against Kun, and once against Coin. Ben named this ability in reference of an elephant's trumpet. *'Decelerated Aging: '''Ben is physically 233 years old in ''Survival of the Fittest. ''However, his body remains in prime condition. '''Near-Perfect Memory: '''Ben, though he has stated to hate it, is capable of remembering most everything that has occured in his life as well as others', down to even minute details. It is not explained whether Ben was born with this ability, or developed it as a result of his Animal-Spirit. Possibly, it is inspired by the phrase "an elephant never forgets". '''Fighting Skills: '''Ben is stated to be one of, if not the, most skilled fighters to have ever lived. In addition to his immense strength, he is knowledgable of a variety of different fighting styles, including boxing, judo, karate, and mixed martial arts. Ben is also a tactical fighter, able to apply his strength in various ways to outsmart opponents he cannot overpower, such as Kun. '''Teaching Skills: '''Ben has personally trained Hannah, Allison, Polo, and Cory, as well as numerous students at the Augustus Leopold School for Higher Learning. It is implied he later helped Coin hone his abilites even further, after Ben dispatched the latter during the battle at his Association.